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2 episodes with worn wear
4 episodes with worn wear
2 episodes with worn wear
2 episodes with worn wear
Send us a textEpisode 276 - The Tweed Salmon FestivalThis was the chance for me to hop in the van, pass over some rivers I've dreamed about and make my way to Scotland for The Tweed Salmon Festival.I catch up with friends old and new, talking with them about fishing, what it means to them as they walk around the show.This is a new show run by good people that, at its heart, is trying to encourage young people into fishing. I so enjoyed seeing so many children catching their first fish.I also talk to tackle companies and the good people from Patagonia who alongside supporting the event, had their Worn Wear repair service that was available not just for their own brand but any brand where you could get a favourite piece of clothing repaired.We had good food, a few drinks and music from Colin Macleod who sang for us Saturday evening.It doesn't matter if you don't salmon fish, this is about the people. I'm hoping you'll enjoy it.I've tried hard to capture the event and the overall feel of it.It was really special.
In this episode, we dive into the prominent role of circularity in the new B Corp standards with Nellie Cohen, creator of Patagonia's Worn Wear project, and Dan Kurzrock, CEO of Upcycled Foods. Nellie and Dan share strategies for transforming waste into value across diverse industries like textiles and food. We also highlight how smaller companies and service-based businesses can integrate circularity more deeply into their operations. Tune in today!Show Notes: https://go.lifteconomy.com/blog/circularity-lessons-patagonia-upcycled-foods-nellie-cohen-dan-kurzrockSupport the showWe want to hear from you! Email us at beyond@lifteconomy.com with requests for content, suggestions for future guests, and feedback about our episodes.
Host Victoria Guido interviews Dustin Butcher, CEO and Co-Founder of MADE TECH, a company revolutionizing the performance apparel industry through custom and made-to-measure automation technology. Dustin shares his journey from working in the outdoor industry and running a creative agency to founding MADE TECH. The company's mission is to provide performance apparel that perfectly fits the wearer's body, addressing a common issue where standard sizes fail to accommodate individual body shapes and sizes, particularly in sports where fit and movement are crucial. Dustin discusses the inspiration behind MADE TECH, which stemmed from personal experiences with ill-fitting outdoor apparel during activities like ski touring. He highlights the company's focus on inclusivity, allowing for 100% size inclusivity and addressing the needs of a broad spectrum of body shapes and sizes. This initiative caters to individuals who traditionally struggle to find performance gear that fits and opens the door for brands to offer more inclusive product lines. Dustin's background in the outdoor industry and encounters with the limitations of standard sizing in apparel led to the development of a technology-driven solution that customizes clothing to the individual's measurements, enhancing performance and comfort. The conversation also touches on the industry's broader implications of custom and made-to-measure apparel, including sustainability and waste reduction. Dustin elaborates on MADE TECH's business model, which initially targeted direct-to-consumer sales but has pivoted towards partnering with established brands to offer custom-fit options. This strategic shift aims to leverage brand trust and reach a wider audience, promoting inclusivity and personalization in the performance apparel market. MADE TECH (https://www.made-custom.com/) Follow MADE TECH on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/made-tech/). Follow Dustin Butcher on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustin-butcher/). Follow thoughtbot on X (https://twitter.com/thoughtbot) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/150727/). Become a Sponsor (https://thoughtbot.com/sponsorship) of Giant Robots! Transcript: VICTORIA: This is the Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast, where we explore the design, development, and business of great products. I'm your host, Victoria Guido. And with me today is Dustin Butcher, CEO and Co-Founder of MADE TECH, powering the future of performance apparel with custom and made-to-measure automation. Dustin, thank you for joining me. DUSTIN: Oh, thank you so much for having me, and I'm excited to be here. VICTORIA: Wonderful. Yeah. So, why don't you just introduce yourself a little bit more and tell me about your background? DUSTIN: Yeah, of course. So, as you mentioned, I'm one of the co-founders of MADE. We have built technology that enables the automation of custom and made-to-measure performance apparel. So, similar to how you could, like, you know, go online and design a custom suit or something like that and get it made to fit your body, we do that for performance apparel so that the product that really matters if it fits you properly and that sort of thing, and, you know, so that might be outdoor apparel, motocross, yoga. Whatever sport it is that you're into that, you need your apparel to move with you; that's what we fuel. And so, we're working with a bunch of different brands in that space to do that. My background, I came from the outdoor industry; always been in the outdoor industry since I was able to hold a job, originally just at ski resorts and stuff as a lifty and as a waiter, and all those types of classic, you know, teenage jobs. And then I worked in-house at a bunch of outdoor companies, Voilé, a little backcountry ski company here in Salt Lake, and then Black Diamond, and Gregory Packs, and Petzl, and kind of worked around the industry a bit. And then for the last 12 years, I ran a creative agency, specifically in the outdoor industry, working with a lot of those same brands and other brands in kind of communicating their value to the outdoor customer. And so, and then we kind of rolled into MADE, had this idea, connected with my co-founders, and really built it from there. VICTORIA: I love hearing about people building careers in the outdoor industry, something really close to me personally. I also got my first few jobs from rock climbing and having competed as a young adult and then walking up to businesses and saying, "Hey, you have a climbing wall. Like, you should hire me, and I'll run your climbing wall." And they're like, "Okay." [laughs] So, it just, like, brings you so much confidence and such a great community to be a part of. And so, you're talking about creating clothes that move with you. Can you tell me a time when you were doing something, some kind of performance sport activity, and you were like, "Wow, whatever I'm wearing does not fit me. This is really affecting my performance and my ability to do this sport"? DUSTIN: Yeah, I probably have too many of these stories. And what's interesting about that is I'm a pretty traditionally medium guy. I'm 5'11. I'm 170 pounds. Like, I should generally fit into mediums, but I'm just in that weird spot where I always kind of feel like, am I a medium or a large in this? My torso is a bit long. So, my primary sport is ski touring, like, backcountry skiing. That's what I love to do. That's where I spend my time and my focus and a lot of that kind of stuff. So, I've had lots of experiences where I might be climbing up a [inaudible 03:08], and my jacket comes up a bit on my lower back and exposes my lower back, and it's cold. And so, then I got into defaulting where I wear, like, one-piece base layers, so I can never expose my skin directly. But it's like, the ultimate solution really was to have properly fitting stuff. The original concept for MADE came from I was out on a ski tour with some friends, and I was wearing a pair of pants, some soft shell pants that I loved the fit of. But the feature set wasn't there, and they were, like, Alpine climbing pants. They're not even designed for ski touring. They didn't fit over my ski boot. They looked a little bit silly, but I loved the fit, like, in the leg. And they didn't have like, you know, a beacon pocket and those types of things that I would want. But I do have this other pair of ski touring soft shell pants that I wear most of the time that fit terribly but have all the features that I want. And it was like, ah, man, I wish I could, like, determine exactly what I need as a skier and then, you know, would have the confidence that it was going to fit me perfectly, that sort of thing. And that's really where it kind of started. It was a very selfish, like, how can I get the thing that I want? You know, I connected with my co-founders, both of whom came from Arc'teryx to start this with me. And we really got to thinking, and it's like, wow, with this type of system, we can make a really big impact as far as like, we can be 100% size-inclusive. There's not body shapes or sizes we can't meet with this type of system. And so, then it really opened a lot of doors as far as, like, what we can do and how we can connect this. And that's when we all kind of came together on this idea and said, like, "This matters, and we're the ones to build it." VICTORIA: I love that you're trying to fit something that works for you, and you realize having that ability could make it inclusive for everyone. And I wonder if you could share more about what you know about sizing in the clothing industry and, how that's developed over time, and how it may be really limiting who has access to the products that you're selling and the activity that those products allow you to do. DUSTIN: It might sound like a crappy, little history lesson, but, you know, the further back we go...before the industrial revolution, clothing was made to fit the individual, you know, you'd go to a tailor, and you'd tell them what you need the product to do for you, and they'd measure you and make the product. And then we got into this mass manufactured thing, which is great as far as, like, efficiencies and economies of scale, and all that kind of stuff. And so, we can get stuff cheaper and still, like, high-level product, but we got into this standardized system. And then companies deal with this challenge of like, okay, what is our small? What is our medium? What is our large? And finding those things and trying to meet the needs of the bell curve but also knowing that for every individual person, they're not meeting that person's fit needs, right? They're trying to fit as many people within the primary sizes as they can, and that's part of the challenge. One of the things that we've run into in performance product, especially, is that, like, there are massive swaths of people that simply cannot get good performance product in their size. 68% of North American women are over a size 14, and it's really hard to find good ski outerwear, as an example, for a plus-size individual like that. And that's not even that plus size. That's an average, like, that's 68%. Like, we're not talking about like, oh, these are the ends of the bell curve. These are people who want to get out and do things, and they've been unable to do it because of clothing. What a silly reason to not be able to do the sport that you're excited about, or even to go spend time with your friends and family, or whatever it might be, like, your motivation, but, like, what a bummer of a reason to not be able to do it. So, those are the things we're trying to solve through our system is saying, like, "Hey, we can work with these existing brands, and they can now offer stuff that is fully inclusive, meets all of their quality expectations, all of this, and still comes in with a very reasonably priced product." You know, it's not what you think custom would be where it's like, oh, it's going to be five times the cost of the ready-to-wear product. No, we can come in at the same price or very similar with these brands and allow them to make options that meet the needs of all different shapes and sizes. VICTORIA: Well, I can really relate to that because some of the clothes that I would wear for climbing or even yoga are coming in at a very high price point already. And I recently tried on a set of clothing from a retailer who's normally, like, known for yoga and outdoors equipment. And I was just surprised at how it seemed that they wanted the person who fit these clothes to be very narrow all the way through [laughs]. And I was like, wow, I'm struggling to fit in these clothes. And, like you said, like, I feel like I'm pretty average, and that was frustrating, and especially, like, getting clothes like that it can really deter people from participating in the sport and participating in outdoor activities altogether. So, I think it's really cool that you are going down that journey. Let me ask you, how did you get the original idea for MADE TECH, specifically? DUSTIN: So, first, we had to determine, is it possible? Can you make a system that would automate the creation of a custom pattern, all of that kind of stuff in really technical product, right? We know it can be done in suits and jeans and that sort of category that's more of a simple cut-and-sew. Whereas when you get into technical product where you're dealing with waterproof fabrics and seam sealing, you know, in a ski jacket, there's, like, 200 pieces of that product versus two pieces that get, like, pushed together and sewn between, right? Like, it's really, really complicated stuff. So, we started with that kind of hypothesis is, yes, we can figure this out, and we did that under a D2C brand, MADE Outdoor. It's madeoutdoor.com. It's now been live for almost two winters, and we've made a bunch of product and a bunch of people happy. And, you know, we had some really early success with really tall, thin dudes, you know, like, that 6'6, you know, I'm sub 200 pounds or something. I'm really thin. And that person has been kind of forced into wearing a triple XL jacket for so long. So, they're pretty psyched. And so, like, we've had some of those early wins, and that was really kind of like, okay, we tested it. We've proven this system works. And so, it's really just been in the last six months that we've said, like, okay, now where do we make the biggest impact? How do we make that change in the industry and in these opportunities to participate in these sports? And that's not through our own brand. That is one piece of it. Sure. But the larger opportunity is for us to work with existing brands that have that consumer trust already that, you know, like, "Oh yeah, I've worn this brand for however many years, and I have that trust, and I love the brand. And now I can get something that fits me perfectly." Or it's that person that's like, "Oh, I've always worn this brand because it fits me, but I really would love to wear this other brand, but I know it doesn't fit me properly." And so, it opens doors for people to kind of like say like, "Okay, what's the brand? What are the materials? What's the brand ethos that really connects with me? And be able to go there and not have fit be the reason that I can go with one or the other." VICTORIA: That's really interesting. So, you started with originally direct-to-consumer custom ski and snowboard wear and, found your initial success, and then identified a pivot point where you could expand and do direct business-to-business and make other brands more inclusive as well. DUSTIN: Yeah, that's the big idea, right? And it doesn't need to be my name or our brand name on the thing. Like, what we've built, like, there's just an opportunity for an impact here that's bigger than just us. VICTORIA: I love that. And it makes me want to ask you, what other core values drive your everyday decisions as you go about your process here? DUSTIN: Yeah, the three kind of pillars we think about anytime we are working on something, and really that kind of drive our whole system at MADE, is inclusivity, sustainability, and personalization. I should come up with a better way to say that, but it's those three, right? So, on the personal side, we want you to have the thing that you need. Your setup for some climbing clothing is going to be different than mine. You're going to want to set things up differently. And maybe you are a boulderer, and I am a big wall climber. Yeah, we have different needs for what we have. And so, we want you to be able to kind of define that rather than just being a designer in some boardroom somewhere. So, that's the personalization side. The second is the sustainability side. 30%, and this sounds outrageous, but 30% of apparel is never sold to an end consumer. And it eventually gets destroyed or sent to the landfill, which obviously has a massive sustainability impact, not only for that product to how do you dispose of that kind of thing, but also just, like, we made it, and it took time, and it took money, and it took human hours and all that kind of stuff. So, that's a huge opportunity for us because everything that is made through the MADE system it already has a home. Like, we never make a thing...if any of our brands are using our system, they only make things that already have a home. So, that's a huge win. We immediately take off that 30% of overproduction, right? And then the inclusivity stuff we've talked about already, but it's like, we just want people to be able to do the things that makes them happy. And it's a bummer when you can't do those things, whether it's climbing, or yoga, or whatever. Like, you know, there are some big brands that have had a hard time with size inclusivity, which is totally understandable. It's really hard to make product that fits everybody. And so, you know, we create these standardized systems, and then we knowingly leave people off. But we know that because it's like, well, not that many people in this size have bought from us, and we have to hit our MOQs, and we have to do X and Y and that sort of thing. But with this type of system, they can hit everybody, and they're not taking those, like, big risks as far as like, oh yeah, we have to set place this big order, and then all this product is going to sit in a warehouse for three years before it'll finally sell through. VICTORIA: It reminds me of a classic story you hear in software design about how they tried to make the first Air Force pilot chair; I don't know if you've heard this one, where they, like, took all the measurements of all the pilots and then they, like, averaged out all the, like, heights and widths and everything. So, they made this chair that fit no one. DUSTIN: Yeah [laughs]. VICTORIA: Because no one is perfectly average. Like, you know, everyone has variations in their size and their measurements. And so, I think that's really cool. It's interesting. I hadn't thought about the conservation impact or the impact on the environment; it takes just to have to have so much error in your sizing, which is naturally part of what's going to happen when you try to make an average size. DUSTIN: I've not been on the product design side of apparel. I don't envy them. Like, their job is hard to find that fit story that, okay, this is what the average consumer looks like. But what does our consumer look like, and then how do we find something that meets them? And what is our medium? And then, do we have to make a different medium for different markets in the world? And there's so much, like, level of detail in there. That's one of the beauties of us working with other brands now is that, like, their level of knowledge in that stuff is huge. And so, pulling from that and being able to say like, "For your product, how should this jacket fit somebody? How do you want it to move?" So, then, when our system pulls in the 3D measurements of that individual, it can say like, "Okay, this jacket needs to sit this far off of the shoulder. It needs to have this much room around the bicep." Like, those types of things are all part of how it works and gives those opportunities for, like, an individualized fit that is determined by how the brand wants it to perform. MID-ROLL AD: Are your engineers spending too much time on DevOps and maintenance issues when you need them on new features? We know maintaining your own servers can be costly and that it's easy for spending creep to sneak in when your team isn't looking. By delegating server management, maintenance, and security to thoughtbot and our network of service partners, you can get 24x7 support from our team of experts, all for less than the cost of one in-house engineer. Save time and money with our DevOps and Maintenance service. Find out more at tbot.io/devops. VICTORIA: How did you go about, like, what was your first step when you said, "Oh, I need a system to do this type of automation and to be able to do this kind of customization"? How did you approach solving that problem? DUSTIN: Well, we started to figure it out, and we realized that the system didn't exist [laughs]. So, that's really what it was. It was out of necessity more than anything. So, we wanted to build our custom and made-to-measure brand, and none of the systems existed to do it. So, we got to work on building those systems. You know, that was, over the last year, it's like, okay, we built all these systems. Do we just use them for ourselves, or can we have that bigger impact if we work with other brands? VICTORIA: So, did you have the skills to build the technology already in-house, or did you have to develop that within your company? DUSTIN: Oh, man. So, my co-founders are amazing. I started this with two co-founders, Cheryl LeBarr and Capri Philip, both came from Arc'teryx to start this with me. Arc'teryx, if people don't know, is one of the big outerwear brands in the outdoor space, a beautiful, beautiful product. They understand fit and, form and function, and they make an amazing product. And I have connections over there, and so I made a few phone calls and really, like, found the right people. So, we got to work on it. None of us are coders. We kind of scrambled through our MVP. We figured out how we could do it with...if you look at our MVP backend, it's messy, like every startup's MVP is. And it's like, okay, this system is connecting to this system over here, and it's talking to this. And it's sending this data from here and that sort of thing. And it's like, but we figured it out, and that was the key. You know, so the automation of this stuff really came from the pattern design side, which was Capri's specialty. And then the automation of the, like, tech pack and all of the factory details that they need to produce the garment came from Cheryl's side, from the product development side. And mine was more on the brand and kind of communication of the value and that sort of thing. We were scrappy. And we figured out how to build something that worked. And then the next step was to bring on a proper CTO and then really build the, like, scalable system that's like, okay, now it can plug into existing systems. And, oh, you have these expectations of your enterprise-level software. Yes, this is how it works, that sort of thing. So, it's been tiered in that way. And that, honestly, is part of the fun. Like, part of the fun is finding these new problems to solve and then coming up with creative ways to solve them. VICTORIA: That's really cool. So, you all were able to build your MVP together within your existing co-founding team. I'm curious about, like, what platforms you chose to do that in. Did you pick, like, a programming language or some sort of, like, ClickOps or some kind of, like, other tool that you could use, like low-code tool, to develop it at first? DUSTIN: I mean, it's very low code. It's Google Docs, Google Sheets that speak to each other and, like, can share data between them kind of thing within our secret backend, obviously. We have a really great relationship with our measurement partner. We didn't build the measurement technology. That's a whole different business model and that sort of thing. So, we work with this great group called 3DLOOK that does our measurements, and it just uses a customer's phone to take a front and a side photo, and then we get a full 3D model that goes into our thing. It's super cool. We tried to pull some things off the shelf that existed that we could use without having to build it ourselves. With my agency business, like, I have a developer that I work with a lot. And so, like, we called on them to help us build a few pieces, but for the most part, it really was just, like, getting scrappy and creative together. And, like, we built the MADE Outdoor platform on Shopify. It's like all these systems that are just kind of like, yeah, we know how these systems work. Let's use those to start, and then if it works, then we build it into a bigger framework. VICTORIA: I'm glad you mentioned that there's take a picture because I was going to say, whenever I even have to do, like, a sizing guide chart on a website to buy clothes and you have to, like, measure your waist, I'm like, I don't want to do that [laughs]. I'm just, like, too lazy. I don't want to check that right now. So, taking a picture would be so much easier. DUSTIN: People are so bad at that [laughs]. Like, when we first got started, and we were asking people to send in their measurements, and here's a video on how to do it, even the same person, like, with three different people measuring them, you'd get wildly different information. And so, we definitely knew early on, okay, we need to eliminate the human error aspect and get this as digital as possible. So, that's where we found the right partner. And it really is, it's, like, a two-minute thing. You stand in front of your phone. It takes photos. The photos aren't even saved anywhere, like; they're AI, like, looks at the photos and then gives us the model. We're not sitting on a bunch of pictures of people in their base layers and underwear or anything like that. It's like, all of this is just kind of like, we have your 3D model, and now we can build the product, and we can even do digital test fits on that person, your actual body, before it even gets made, and stuff. So, we have systems for redundancy and everything that we can test everything. And that's just the beauty of, like, the modern technology that exists. Like, we didn't build that either, but we are using the heck out of it to make sure that we can make the best product for people. VICTORIA: That's really cool. I love that. So, you've maybe answered this question already a little bit, but was there anything else in your product discovery process, and especially as you shifted into marketing directly to businesses, anything that was in your discovery process that surprised you and had you pivot in your strategy? DUSTIN: You know, you start with your own experience, right? So, we are sitting in our meetings, and it's like, oh man, here's all the products we want to make. And we're like, we've got this list of 40 things that we want. Oh, I need soft-shell pants. And we started in hard shell for our own brand. So, then it's like, "I live in the Wasatch. I don't wear hard shell, like, while I'm ski touring, at least. Like, I need soft shell." And then it's like, okay, well, let's start working on soft shell stuff. Then it's like, okay, we also need mid-layers, and we need base layers. And then we need mountain bike, and we need trail run, and we need climbing, and we need hiking. And it's like, oh man, you know what would be easier? If we just worked with, like, one of the or all of the big brands in this space. And there's some really great examples of, like, smaller companies that have created really compelling systems to work with these brands, like the same group that does the secondary market stuff, so the Worn Wear program for Patagonia and the ReGear thing for Arc'teryx. And they built that same structure for, like, two dozen different brands. And it's like, man, that is the model for us. That's where we can really connect is they've created so much value in the secondary market, and we've created a bunch of value in this custom and made-to-measure market. That's what we want to do. And we want motocross...like, the MADE brand isn't going to make motocross stuff. The MADE brand isn't going to make fly fishing necessarily. But we want these markets and these people to be able to have that solution. And we also, like, we're early in the space. Like, we want them to use us rather than, like, take the time and money and everything to build it themselves. Like, come to us, like, that's our whole idea. We want to have that bigger, larger impact. So, I guess it's us just trying to say like, "What do we want?" And we're users. We know the market. How do we get there the fastest? And how do we have that impact quicker than just necessarily, like, okay, well, in 25 years, we'll have all those products that we want? VICTORIA: Yeah, yeah, I could see that, how it went from, well, yeah, I would want this for every product, and then you're like, well, I can't build every product [laughs]. So, I like that pivot in your strategy. And what challenges do you see in being able to make that impact as quickly as you want? DUSTIN: One of our biggest challenges right now, I think, is that this is a totally new idea in this space. Nobody's done this in this space. Like, in suiting, custom suits have been a thing for a long time, and it used to just be for rich people. And now because of, like, modern technology and stuff, it's become more approachable. Awesome. That's great. And so, like, in that kind of category, people are more used to the idea of, like, yeah, I place an order, and it takes time, and they make a thing, and then it comes to me. Whereas with outdoor apparel and sports apparel and that sort of stuff, you go to your local shop. You try on six different things, and you walk out with the one that meets your needs the best. That's what people are used to. So, it's a little bit of a shift in the thought process. You know, we've had our early adopters, and now we're kind of moving into more people who are like, "Okay, I get it now." And so, we're seeing more of that where it's like, yes, if I give some time, then I really see the value of having something that fits me perfectly. And in the MADE Outdoor brand, it's not an inexpensive product. We make a really premium hard shell product. Now, it's comparable in price to the other brands that make comparably featured and whatever product, but still, you're spending money, and you want something that's going to last for a while. And so, to have that perfect fit, to have that perfect feature set, to know that when I ski, I totally need a left chest pocket, and I don't need a right chest pocket, whatever it might be, like, your details, that matters, right? So, that's probably our biggest challenge right now. That's not an unsolvable problem. We can manage that. We can get the communication out. And especially as we're onboarding these existing brands, that gives us the opportunity to have a much larger mouthpiece and be able to kind of say like, "Hey, this exists, and you should care." Yes, it's going to be amazing for individuals who have traditionally been off-size. But it's also amazing for you people who think you've always been just, "Yeah, I'm a medium, and everything fits me just fine." You'd be surprised. Like, having something that fits you perfectly is a different world, and the ability to then move in that sport and, like, be able to do your thing, it's like, oh yeah, I guess that, like, extra fabric in my shoulders was kind of, like, limiting my movement while ice climbing or, you know, oh yeah, my sleeves were always coming up while I was climbing, or whatever it might be. Like, there's things that I think people will really kind of be psyched about when they start to experience that custom aspect of it. VICTORIA: Yeah. I can speak to some of that, too, as, like, a climber. And you mentioned it even when you talked earlier about, well, if you're bouldering at the gym, that's a totally different experience than if you're out all day on a multi-pitch, and you're on the wall, and you're, you know, you're vertical for, like, six hours of the day [laughs]. And I think it's really interesting to be able to provide that customization. And how are you defining success for the company? So, you just made this pivot about six months ago. Did you immediately create some goals that you wanted to achieve in three months, six months, or five years? DUSTIN: Yeah, I mean, we have our, like, target, our sales targets and stuff that we are looking at as far as we want these many brands on board this year. And we want to bring on like, you know, as I step back a little bit, as, like, the bigger thoughts behind the company, that's more of, like, where we're trying to target multiple different categories at the same time. So, like, if we can get one big outdoor brand, great, that's what we want to do. Now, we want all the outdoor brands. We totally want them all. But if we can just get one, then we're going to have a start of an impact in the outdoor sector. Then we want the motocross brand, and we want to be able to make the impact in that sector. And we want the fly fishing brand, and we want the yoga brand, and we want the traditional, like, team sports brands and those types of things. Like, we want to kind of, like, spread and have an impact across categories and as kind of a first attack. And then to really kind of go from there and say like, "Okay, now let's build out, like, oh, fly fishing really is connecting with this, or the yoga community is loving the, like, idea of a really custom fit product." So, like, those types of things are where we can kind of go from there. But as we begin, it's really like, can we make an impact across these different categories? And those are a lot of our goals as we start out. It's like, how can we connect with surf? How can we connect with hike? How can we, you know, like, and it's just looking at each of these little categories because we know there's people being stuck that can't get out in each of those things, and we know we can help. But we're not going to design the product personally. So, how can we make that impact with the right partners? VICTORIA: Oh, that's great. And I'm even thinking about surfing and getting a wetsuit. And there's just so few women wetsuits, period, in the store. And it's very limited in range and can be really challenging. And I took a friend surfing last year and did not enjoy that process. She did not like it [laughter]. She liked the surfing part, but the getting the wetsuit on and trying them on was not great [laughs]. DUSTIN: I can only imagine, yeah. And there's some really cool, like, in surf, there are some great small brands, like, new brands that are doing custom fit. I don't know their systems. I don't know if it's an automated process or if it's a manual process, but the reality is it's not readily available enough to the general public. And that's where it's like, oh man, our system makes it readily available. And so, then it's like a simple kind of like, okay, I go online. I fill in this information. I decide, do I want a hood on my wetsuit? Do I not want a hood? Do I want this kind of entry? Do I want...Like, you decide the details that you want, and then the product is made for you. That's the beauty of it, right? VICTORIA: Yeah. And I'm curious to kind of get back to marketing to existing businesses because you not only have to sell them on this is the art of the possible. Here's, like, what you could do to get the same performance with these custom measurements of your existing high-performing apparel. But you also have to encounter this change management process where they have a way of doing things. You'd be a new product. They'd have to figure out how to change up all their operations. So, I'm curious: what's your strategy for getting involved in that and working through it? DUSTIN: Oh man, some of these companies are giant ships with tiny rudders, right? So, to get them to shift any direction or the other is tricky. A lot of our current sales pipeline is more medium-sized brands that have a little bit more of a nimble; yeah, we can jump on this. But one advantage we have is that some of these categories do have some custom programs, like I mentioned, the custom wetsuit stuff, like, that is in the market. So, like, wetsuit companies are aware that this needs to exist. Fly fishing waders: there are some custom fly fishing waders, now, not necessarily made-to-measure, but you don't make them in a 4XL or something. You could order a 4XL from a certain company. So, like, there are systems like that. So, they've actually already kind of figured out the manufacturing side, which is one of the challenges of it that we can help the brands figure out those details because we've done it, and we know how to, like, take advantage of the efficiencies that they have in place with their current supply chain, or they can use our supply chain that we've built out. So, it depends. But that is one of the challenges is to get them to just kind of commit to say like, "Yes, this is worth putting in the time." So, we do have...actually, the secondary market company I mentioned earlier, the way that they do it is it's, like, a separate site. And so, it's not run through their existing site. And so, they get around some of the ways of not necessarily having to be tied directly into a lot of their internal systems, and it's run as, like, a secondary system. Like, there are guitar manufacturers that make custom that they don't even produce them. They basically license out their shapes and stuff to custom builders. So, we're trying to take a lot of the learnings from these other categories that do something kind of similar to what we're doing and learn from them and say like, "Okay, that's one approach we could take, or that's an approach we could take." And then, really, we're going to the sales conversations with those brands and saying, "What do you need? Because we can be flexible." We're the opposite of the giant ship with a tiny rudder. We're that tiny, little motorboat that can, you know, like, spin circles and stuff. Like, we can do whatever is really needed at this point for these brands to be able to tie into them. So, we are flexible, and we try to learn as much from them as possible to be able to build the right solution. VICTORIA: Yeah, I think that is the draw of you get your foot in the door with the middle businesses, and you can prove out that it works, and then maybe eventually the bigger brands start to take notice and pick it up as well. But it is going to take time. That's really cool. I think it provides that, you know, for those mid-size businesses, it gives them an advantage that a larger enterprise wouldn't be able to offer. DUSTIN: Yeah, no, I think, at first, especially, like, the idea to be kind of first to market-ish with something totally new and exciting and to create that brand value with their customer in a way that they haven't been able to before. VICTORIA: Right. And you mentioned fly fishing a few times, and I feel like it's one of those sports that I've done it when I was, like, really small, like, maybe with my grandfather, like, fishing in the river. And as I get older, I'm like, it does sound nice. DUSTIN: Right? [laughs] VICTORIA: Like, sitting alone in, like, a beautiful place. Like, maybe you get a fish, maybe you don't. I think I like the idea of it more than the reality of it, but will try it out some...I have enough other sports [inaudible 33:02]. DUSTIN: I think you'd be psyched if you gave it a shot. Like, fly fishing is something that, like, if you like being outside, it's something else. There's a beauty to it, for sure. And there's a beauty to all of these sports. And, honestly, if people are being active, whatever it is that you're doing, good for you. And that's part of it is, like, we are trying to be as sport agnostic as we can in all of this because, yeah, we don't care if you are a diehard snowmobiler, right? Amazing. Great. Let's get you some product that fits so you can get out and do your diehard thing. Or, you know, maybe you're a mountain biker or a road cyclist, or, like, you know, there's so many things that we wear clothing that we hope allows us to perform in that sport, and yet so much of it is holding us back, even maybe to a degree that we don't even know. Professional athletes and stuff, much of their product is made-to-measure. Olympic speed skaters, like, it's not like they had to just choose a medium or a large type of product. Like, it's made to fit their body so that they can perform at their pinnacle level. That's awesome. Where that stops is in the, like, general consumer, and, like, I want to get out and do my sport. It's not about being the best at this thing. It's just about being my best at this thing and having the most fun that I want to have in it. The fit and the details of your product matter just as much as it does for the Olympian as far as I'm concerned. VICTORIA: Absolutely. And it reminds me of a story that happened to me. I was climbing in this very popular pant that is known as their climbing pant from this particular brand. And it was maybe the fifth time I'd worn these pants and just ripped the inseam while climbing. DUSTIN: [laughs] VICTORIA: You know, lucky it wasn't that cold that day or anything, but it's just [inaudible 34:50] DUSTIN: Your belayer got a kick out of it, I'm sure. VICTORIA: Yeah, there was a layer to this, right? Yeah. DUSTIN: [laughs] VICTORIA: And I've heard that happens to lots of climbers who wear those same pants. Like, they're known for that because it's really hard to get that measurement right, especially with that kind of material, which was great. It's like this material that was supposed to not rip, right? [laughter] [inaudible 35:09] what is this? Yeah. Maybe I do want to go outside, and I want to go fly fishing, or I want to go skiing or snowboarding, but, oh, they don't even have pants in my size. Like, I'm not even going to try. And that's really demoralizing. So, I think it's great to be working on that problem. Oh, wonderful. Thank you so much for joining. Is there anything else that you would like to promote today? DUSTIN: No, I mean, I think I love having these conversations, and chatting with you has been so great. It's fun to talk about what we're working on and to, you know, get the word out a bit more. There's not really other things to promote other than, like, you know, if you're a smaller or medium-sized or a large apparel brand hearing this, like, please reach out to me. I want to talk to you. We've built a system that really can help both the brand and the customer. It helps the brand with revenue and with margins and reduced waste and all of these things, but it also just helps the customer have a better product and a better experience. And ultimately, that's, in theory, what we are trying to do when we make product. So yeah, that's my focus, and that's what I want to talk to everybody I can about right now. VICTORIA: I love that. Thank you so much for sharing your story and for coming on the show today. You can subscribe to the show and find notes along with a complete transcript for this episode at giantrobots.fm. If you have questions or comments, email us at hosts@giantrobots.fm. And you can find me on Twitter @victori_ousg. This podcast is brought to you by thoughtbot and produced and edited by Mandy Moore. Thanks for listening. See you next time. AD: Did you know thoughtbot has a referral program? If you introduce us to someone looking for a design or development partner, we will compensate you if they decide to work with us. More info on our website at: tbot.io/referral. Or you can email us at referrals@thoughtbot.com with any questions.
Nellie Cohen is the Director of Circular Revenue Models at Anthesis. Nellie holds over 15 years' of sustainability experience and is widely recognized as a leading figure within the circular economy movement. She spent nearly a decade at Patagonia as the architect of the brand's precedent-setting and award-winning circularity program, Worn Wear. Prior to joining Anthesis, Nellie founded Baleen. There she consulted with notable apparel brands to develop circular business models, product systems and related marketing and communications. A former lecturer in Industrial Ecology at UC Santa Barbara, she holds a BA in Environmental Systems from UC San Diego and a MS in Biological Oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. In this episode Nellie shares: - What is the circular economy? - What are the benefits of engaging in the circular economy? - How we can keep our resources and products in use for as long as possible. - Why ride-sharing/carpooling is better for the environment than Uber-ing. - Great examples of businesses that are thriving with sustainable models. - The impact that 'Worn Wear' had on Patagonia's success. - Nellie's life-changing questions 1. How can I make the world a better place? which led to 2. How can we change people's relationship with stuff? 3. How can I help move people from consumers to owners? And a question that you can reflect on : How can circularity affect your business plan and model? - How 82% of Americans bought something used last year, and the growing trend of Gen-Z choosing not to buy something if it can't be resold or repurposed. It is a trend that product-based business owners should consider carefully in their designs Resources mentioned in this episode Naomi Klein This changes everything Capitalism vs Climate https://www.amazon.com.au/This-Changes-Everything-Capitalism-Climate/dp/1451697392 Nellie Cohen - Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/nellie-cohen-69233194/ If you would like more insights on profit maximization for your business, visit www.ProfitHive.com.au
Absolutely thrilled to kick off 2024 with not a simple podcast, but our very first episode in English. On the mic this week, our special guest is Joy Howard! To launch it we needed a star, literally. She started her career as a rockstar, no less! Passionnate about sustainability and improving the life of other people, Joy brought her wholehearted contribution to large ventures of which Johnson & Johnson, Patagonia, Converse All Stars, Lyft, Sonos... And now her own brand, Early Majority. Some of the topics we discussed with Joy:
There are high expectations for resale as pointed out by The Guardian. Next-generation customers will seek out pre-owned items that will allow the fashion industry to automatically transform a 100+ year-old linear model into a circular model. This will not happen in a straight path, nor will it happen overnight. Today, we live in the wild west, where it's hard to distinguish the positive forward momentum from the PR plays.The Fast Company article, ‘We buy too many clothes. Can fashion's secondhand boom change that?' really brings this point home. The piece starts by asking the question, despite all the resale news, “why the boom in resale isn't putting a dent in new clothing sales.” This would be like asking, despite all the eCommerce websites in 2002, why hasn't commerce changed? eCommerce has changed commerce, and resale will change new clothing production, but business model change on this scale takes time.What is more relevant is how brands are approaching the change. Fast Company spoke with Patagonia's @Asha Agrawal and Madewell's @Liz Hershfield. Agrawal points out that Patagonia must ensure that its resale platform makes money because this will allow the company to reduce the number of new products it produces while remaining a thriving business. “[Worn Wear is] already a profitable business for us. So now, it's just about scaling this business proposition, which will allow us to cut back on our net new production.”In contrast, Fast Company points out that most resale platforms don't generate revenue for brands, including ThredUp and Recurate, which helped launch resale sites for Mara Hoffman, Steve Madden, and Outerknown. Madewell's Hershfield states, “We weren't looking at profitability, but we want to break even financially. We do this to ensure we're meeting our sustainability goals.”Madewell's Forever (their resale partnership with ThredUP) is indeed good in many ways, including keeping items in use and driving customer expectations for resale. But because Madewell doesn't have a business model to make money on selling pre-owned items, Madewell isn't set up to shift its business away from a linear model. This and many other brand resale programs work in a philanthropy model rather than a business model change.The importance of a profitable business model extends beyond sustainability as more brand items are sold everywhere. EXPRESS Pre Loved, powered by LXR, quietly added 150+ luxury products to its online storefront, including Gucci, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton. EXPRESS makes it easy for their customers to shop across new and pre-owned as part of their marketplace program, including shared cart, which only 25% of brands offer today. All of this works for EXPRESS but not for the brands they now sell. The obvious risk here is that brands who never choose to sell to EXPRESS have zero control on how their items are priced, merchandise, or authenticated.Chloe made news this week by announcing it would digitally label all pieces by 2025, starting with a 20-piece capsule collection this year. As WWD reports, this part isn't new news, as many brands do this today across their full range of products. This is an essential strategy for the authenticity and future value of their products.What was more interesting, was the splashy headlines such as Vogues, Chloé launches ‘instant resale' using digital IDs on Vestiaire Collective. This is a great headline, as it speaks to the potential brands have to monetize the total value of their items. While details of the program are scarce, Vestiaire Collective may be offering immediate payout on these items rather than requiring a buyer. In this case, Vestiaire would take on the risk of the item's condition, pricing, and selling. Given this is a 1-year pilot for a capsule collection of 20 items first available in early April, we are likely talking about a handful of items ever being bought and sold in this way.Digital product IDs are an excellent move for brands. While this is a demonstration project, Chloe's direction to digitize all items by 2025 makes sense. Digital IDs have tremendous potential for brands to authenticate items and own the total value of their items. Digital IDs don't make a resale program. Brands still need to own their brand, and their customers via brand resale. Digital IDs will make that easier.The So WhatTo create more sustainable models brands need to make money selling their pre-owned items. Otherwise brand resale programs will never shift their business away from linear to circular models.Digital IDs are the future but don't change the reality that brands should not depend on anyone else to own their digital authentication keys and the resale models built on those digital IDs.
Don't Buy This Jacket - A Story with Former Patagonia's Nellie Cohen and Trove's Founder Andy RubenThe birth and evolution of Patagonia's Worn Wear is a story of confronting the hard truths about our linear business models that overproduction is ultimately unsustainable. It is a story of innovation through iteration baked with intentionality, failing forward and trying again. As Nellie and Andy recount these early years, the audience will take away more general value that can be applied to their business, including:Confront the hard questions. Our current linear fashion model puts us toward ecological bankruptcy, which requires system change. The work required here is not straightforward or quick. It involves confronting uncomfortable truths, risk, and experimentation. Bring in others.Circular models require business model change. Checking a box that you “do resale” is just that -- checking a box. Transformational business models allow a brand or business to grow in a new manner that doesn't require production growth in emissions. These require a north star and intention at the highest levels of a company.Business model innovation aligns with the core brand. Innovation needs to be tied to the brand ethosLearn more about Trove and Anthesis. Connect with Andy Ruben and Nellie Cohen.
5 Resale Predictions for 2023 As the news slows down for the Holidays and New Year, we'd love to share our resale predictions for 2023. Let's start with how the end of this year. 2022 will be the year Branded Resale became table stakes. We went from 31 to 120+ brands with dedicated resale programs. There is no going back.Brands didn't start the shift, customers did as pioneers such as The RealReal, Poshmark, Rent the Runway, and ThredUP made it easier than ever to shop secondhand. Brands took it from there. Eileen Fisher's ‘Green Eileen' was the first in 2009 but still positioned as philanthropic. Patagonia x Trove launched Worn Wear in 2016 as the first branded resale program, quickly followed by Eileen Fisher x Trove and REI x Trove later that year. ThredUP launched RaaS in 2019. Reflaunt was founded in 2017, Recurate in 2020, Archive in 2021, and most recently Treet all of whom make it easier than ever for brands to launch branded programs.The customer shift continues to make resale the fastest-growing retail channel and the more brands with resale programs, the more customers expect brands to have resale channels. There is no going back. So what's next? 5 Predictions for 2023 Brands with newly launched resale programs move to build resale businesses. This requires a path to scale and profitability and will ultimately require logistics. 2023 will start to really separate the headlines from the businesses moving hundreds of thousands of single SKU items to new homes.Brands further integrate the customer journey more fully realizing the power of resale and trade-in. We saw the start of this in 2022 with integrated carts, order history, store trade-in, and returns, and that trend will accelerate.Continued consolidation of third-party marketplaces. There is room for a few third-party marketplaces, which are really simply retailers but fewer than the number today. We saw the start of this in 2022 with Tradsey, Poshmark, and Grailed but there is more to come as these marketplaces work to both scale and prove long-term business viability.New innovation models that mix historically separate ideas such as resale, rental, and discovery. These lines are blurring and there will be more companies starting to pioneer on the backs of what brands are now doing.Luxury's wake-up call. Luxury will realize it's time to act in order to protect their brand from being sold in channels they can't control. Retail is a large marketplace and as Amazon, Walmart, Saks Off 5th, and more start selling Gucci and Louis Vuitton, there is a risk to the luxury brands themselves–in both brand equity and authenticity.
The Resale Edit: What Brands Should Consider When Building A Resale ProgramThe only place to start this week is the Charnard's decision to give 100% of Patagonia to a trust and holding company charged with manifesting Patagonia's mission: to save our home planet. There are few leaders that live their values with the willingness to discard and invent new structures for the times–Patagnoia's IronClad Guarantee, 1% for the planet, the Footprint Chronicles, Benefit Corporation, “Don't Buy This Jacket” and of course Worn Wear. Consistent with the past 50 years, Yvon and Patagonia are still willing to do so, with this recent move. Leadership can be elusive but we certainly know it when we see it. Thank you, Yvon, Milinda, Ryan, and the Patagonia team for continuing to lead.As NYFW wrapped up last week and climate week kicked off this week, Fortune points out the disagreeable truth that climate goals and big fashion business models simply do not align. Although brands and retailers are taking steps to be more sustainable, there is still a disconnect on how many goods a company can make to reach environmental goals. We are not going to address this within our current linear model. And it's one of the reasons so many fashion brands are launching resale programs. But with all these new programs how can one distinguish between business innovation and marketing? One way is to look at the business model behind the effort. Innovative business models are set up to be profit centers for the business, they address core activities such as buying and selling pre-owned items. Marketing programs have an ROI that drives traffic but are not set up to become core for the business. Saks Off 5th, who expanded their resale efforts this week with LXR and Reflaunt is aiming to make money by buying and selling pre-loved items. This is business model innovation given the ability to scale a profit center. Whereas UK fashion provider, Joules, who also announced a resale program is essentially awarding gift cards to get you back in the store, more akin to smart marketing. Marketing efforts can evolve into business innovation, but approaching resale as a business innovation certainly improves the odds of capturing the customer shift underway.Saks Off 5th initially partnered with LXR back in 2020 selling pre-owned handbags in-store. Their program has now expanded with Rent the Runway and Reflaunt to offer roughly 1,000 items online. Many of the resold items are not typically sold via the Off 5th banner including Hermes, Fendi, Prada, and Tom Ford. This makes sense for a discount retailer who can now buy back and resell higher-end pieces to their value-oriented customer base. This is a business that has the potential to continue to grow, not a marketing program.We will see more of these programs across value-oriented retailers such as Walmart, Target, JCP, and Macy's as they find new ways to attract and maintain value-oriented customers. As a not-so-small footnote, brands should beware these programs have significant brand risk in the new supply, discounting and merchandising of branded items outside the brand's purview. As compared to traditional wholesale relationships where brands share in revenue, these programs both buy from and sell to customers, bypassing the brands altogether.@James Reinhart wrote a fantastic article in Fast Company comparing fast fashion to big tobacco. James' points included the social pressures of the newest look and price point with cigarettes in the media and affordability at the time. It's possible there will be class action lawsuits or the government will regulate fast fashion but even if this does occur it won't be soon. For now, this article serves more as a billboard highlighting the need for new business models as fashion considers the sustainability implications of the industry.WWD covered lululemon's annual sustainability reporting which highlighted the challenges of our current commerce model from a CO2 perspective. Lulu shared an 82% absolute reduction, ahead of plan on direct emissions (scope 1 and 2) while indirect emissions (scope 3) increased 4%. Given lululemons growth, 4% would still be commendable by some and it also highlights the innovation needed from new business models such as lululemon's Like New. Other brands were in the news for sustainability press releases including Puma's new recycled shoe, others implementing ‘more sustainable' logistics and packing materials, and Macy's circularity program. While these make good marketing, many of these efforts, such as the process of producing a shoe from recycled content, is not addressing the systemic problem a growing fashion CO2 footprint–an exception may be Macy's move to digital samples which can scale and does address core operations. Saks Off 5th and lululemon's Like New program are examples of business innovation that can ultimately scale where business growth isn't directly tied to growing CO2 emissions.The So WhatFashion brands who are serious about climate goals will need to innovate profitable circular models. If your resale program doesn't make money buying and reselling pre-owned items, question if it's really just a marketing program and won't address your innovation agenda.Premium and luxury brands get ready for a very different retail landscape where more of your products are repurchased and resold in channels and stores you would disapprove of, bypassing you entirely. In order to control your brand, you will need ways to track and control your items beyond the first sale, owning the resale channel for your items.Week of September 23:Saks Off 5th on Resale: A Golden OpportunityWomen's Wear DailySaks Off 5th is ready to join resale. Throughout the last several months, Saks Off 5th has been partnering with companies like LXR & Co. and Rent The Runway to start building a network of pre-loved sources. Most recently, Saks Off Fifth launched with Reflaunt introducing menswear, men's accessories, footwear, and sunglasses into its roster of pre-loved merchandise. What is Driving Luxury Resale's Push into Physical Retail?The Fashion LawConsumer goods brands benefit from brick-and-mortar stores as physical retail drives higher spending, lower return rate, and acts as a better vehicle for new customer acquisitions. It's time for resale to get with the “old” way of shopping- in-store. The RealReal, Rebag, and Privè Porter plan to expand their physical store locations to achieve profitability and create the ultimate luxury experience for shoppers. Big fashion can't align its climate goals with its business modelFortuneAs the crossroads of NYFW and Climate Week meet, so does the disagreeable truth that climate goals and big fashion business models simply do not align. Although brands and retailers are taking steps to be more sustainable, there is still a disconnect on how many goods a company can make to reach environmental goals. Lululemon's Latest Impact Report Puts Pressure on Decarbonization Women's Wear Daily Lululemon has already captured the hearts of billions, $1.9 billion in quarterly revenues to be exact. The brand has made amazing strides towards becoming more sustinable, the brand still saw a 4% increase in Scope3 emissions from last year. Lululemon is now putting all of its efforts to focusing on transitioning to renewable, efficient energy. Earth is now our only shareholder.PatagoniaPatagonia is in the business of saving our home planet, by “going purpose.” Ditching the traditional route of going public, Patagonia is choosing to take its wealth and invest in the planet. 100% of the company's voting stock will transfer to Pataonia Purpose Trust and 100% of the nonvoting stock has been given to the Holdfast Collective, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting the environmental crisis and defending nature. Macy's rolls out circular servicesEcotextile NewsFor the last 18 months, Macy's has started integrating new solutions to help conquer its sustainability improvement goals. It's efforts focus on offering ethically produced products and brands to its customer base, while simultaneously reducing its environment mental impact through logistics. Salesforce Enters the Carbon-Credit BusinessThe Wall Street JournalSalesforce is entering the carbon-credit business with force as it gears up to launch it's new Net Zero Marketplace for carbon credits. The marketplace will tackle transparency and quality issues in the ever-changing field. It will launch October 9th with almost 90 projects which will support programs such as soil health and renewable energy. Why fast fashion is the next Big TobaccoFast CompanyGen Z is known as being the most eco-friendly generation yet, even though they feed into the addiction that is fast fashion more than any other consumer group. As fast fashion continues to go unchallenged, the more and more it starting to sing the same tune as Big Tobacco, especially when targeting Gen Z. Fashion brands are launching partnerships with sustainable logistics providersGlossyIn effort to support authenticity around new initiatives, retailers like Rebecca Minkoff, EB Denim and Rent the Runway are taping more sustainable shipping and packaging solutions, like Route and Olive. Route takes the heavy lifting out of the post-purchase experience by offsetting shipping emissions through integrated AI tracking parcels from retailer to customer. Ol
Patagonia is an outdoor apparel company based in Ventura, California with a mission to save our home planet. It was founded in 1976 by Yvon Chouinard and was the first B-Corporation in the state. Rick was Vice President of Environmental Initiatives and Special Media Projects for Patagonia for 15 years during which he founded the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. In addition to his accomplishments at Patagonia, Rick is recognized as one of the world's foremost mountaineers. Along with Yvon and another friend, they were the first Americans to summit K2. He has done other significant climbs and explorations on all continents. In this conversation, Rick discusses why and how Patagonia is fulfilling their mission to save our home planet. He also talks about how Patagonia walks the walk when it comes to sustainability and how it measures its financial performance with the overall health of the planet. Rick is also the author of 6 books. His latest book, "Life Lived Wild: Adventures at the Edge of the Map" is a memoir that recounts some of his boldest expeditions. Rick estimates that he has spent over five years of his life sleeping in tents in distant locations around the globe, "Life Lived Wild" offers some insights to those adventures including his ascent of K2 to exploring a remote area of Tibet that no outsider had ever seen. This episode of Lead With We was produced and edited by Goal 17 Media and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Audible. You can also watch episodes on YouTube at WeFirstTV. Rick Ridgeway Rick Ridgeway is an outdoor adventurer, writer, and advocate for sustainability and conservation initiatives. For 15 years, Rick was a VP at Patagonia developing environmental and sustainability initiatives including Freedom to Roam, the Footprint Chronicles, and Worn Wear. He also was founding chair of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, today the largest apparel, footwear, and home textile trade organization in the world. In addition, Rick is recognized as one of the world's foremost mountaineers. With three companions, he was the first American to summit K2, and he has done other significant climbs and explorations on all continents. Resources: Learn more about Patagonia at https://www.patagonia.com/ Connect with Rick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-ridgeway-151ab819/ Visit leadwithwe.com to learn more about Simon's new book or search for “Lead With We” on Amazon, Google Books or Barnes & Noble.
Our next guest has a wealth of experience in consulting and advising retailers on how to reimagine their physical retail space. Joining Paul for some Retail Therapy is Ian Johnston, the Founder and Creative Director of Quinine – UK-based research, strategy and design consultancy. We've heard a lot about ‘why' when it comes to the importance of sustainability, but the focus has shifted to the execution of the goals and targets. As we discover, physical retailers around the globe are creating inventive ways to hit their sustainability and diversity objectives, from travelling buses making repairs, and multi-use premises to a designated quiet hour in-store. How does the physical store play a role in the sustainability journey? How does bricks and mortar foster loyalty and trust and in turn sustainability credibility? Ian unpacks this important topic and so much more. We cover: Innovative initiatives by global brands What a sustainability-focused retailer looks like Importance of an end-of-life plan Solutions that make a big experiential difference Retail stores as an education platform Strengthening the sustainability connection with customers Advice for SMBs starting their sustainability journey What Ian thinks will bring the industry unstuck Will e-commerce ever overshadow bricks and mortar? A big thank you to AWS for supporting this season of the podcast. AWS is how you can have a sustainable business. Find out how AWS can help: https://pages.awscloud.com/aws-sustainability-transformation.html REFERENCES - WRC Report on Sustainability in Retail - https://www.worldretailcongress.com/congess-content/behind-the-curve-the-nascent-state-of-sustainability-in-retail Starbucks Reserve Roastery - https://www.starbucks.com.cn/en/about/news/roastery-leed-platinum-certification/ Urban Outfitters, Rialto Theatre Store - https://laist.com/news/urban-outfitters-revamping-dtlas-hi Patagonia, Repairs truck called Worn Wear - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-bvyLQ5mP0 H&M Looop - https://about.hm.com/news/general-news-2020/recycling-system--looop--helps-h-m-transform-unwanted-garments-i.html Build Corporate Philotimy - Philotimy means decency, dignity, honesty, and a dozen other ideals encapsulating what it means to live with integrity. It is greater than the individual, positively impacting family, community, organization, and society. Research shows that companies with a strong sense of philotimy consistently outperform less-virtuous companies. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2575912
This week's guests: Nellie Cohen, formerly of Patagonia's Worn Wear used apparel program, and Marcius Extavour, chief scientist of XPrize.
Patagonia is an outdoor apparel company based in Ventura, California with a mission to save our home planet. It was founded in 1976 by Yvon Chouinard and was the first B-Corporation in the state. Rick was Vice President of Environmental Initiatives and Special Media Projects for Patagonia for 15 years during which he founded the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. In addition to his accomplishments at Patagonia, Rick is recognized as one of the world's foremost mountaineers. Along with Yvon and another friend, they were the first Americans to summit K2. He has done other significant climbs and explorations on all continents. In this conversation, Rick discusses why and how Patagonia is fulfilling their mission to save our home planet. He also talks about how Patagonia walks the walk when it comes to sustainability and how it measures its financial performance with the overall health of the planet. Rick is also the author of 6 books. His latest book, "Life Lived Wild: Adventures at the Edge of the Map" is a memoir that recounts some of his boldest expeditions. Rick estimates that he has spent over five years of his life sleeping in tents in distant locations around the globe, "Life Lived Wild" offers some insights to those adventures including his ascent of K2 to exploring a remote area of Tibet that no outsider had ever seen. This episode of Lead With We was produced and edited by Goal 17 Media and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Audible. You can also watch episodes on YouTube at WeFirstTV. Rick Ridgeway: Rick Ridgeway is an outdoor adventurer, writer, and advocate for sustainability and conservation initiatives. For 15 years, Rick was a VP at Patagonia developing environmental and sustainability initiatives including Freedom to Roam, the Footprint Chronicles, and Worn Wear. He also was founding chair of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, today the largest apparel, footwear, and home textile trade organization in the world. In addition, Rick is recognized as one of the world's foremost mountaineers. With three companions, he was the first American to summit K2, and he has done other significant climbs and explorations on all continents. Resources: Learn more about Patagonia at https://www.patagonia.com/ Connect with Rick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-ridgeway-151ab819/ Visit leadwithwe.com to learn more about Simon's new book or search for “Lead With We” on Amazon, Google Books or Barnes & Noble.
Today's guest is Phil Graves, Former Head of Tinshed Ventures at Patagonia.Phil is an executive and board member with over 15 years of experience in M&A, corporate finance, private equity, and venture capital. He has served as the President of The Johnny Morris Foundation & Chief Sustainability Officer at Bass Pro Shops. Before that, he served as Vice President of Corporate Development at Patagonia. At Patagonia, Phil launched and oversaw Tin Shed Ventures, a $79 million investment fund, Worn Wear, a multi-million dollar eCommerce business, Innovation Works, a breakthrough R&D team, and Regenerative Organic Certification, a holistic standard for food and fiber. Prior to joining the company in 2014, Phil spent a decade at Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers. In addition, he provided financial advisory and investment-related services to clients such as KKR & Co, TPG Capital, Lone Star Investment Advisors, Nike, Walmart, Southwest Airlines, and SunPower. Phil's perch in the climate industry is unique, and I was looking forward to sitting down with him this week. Phil walks me through his career path, his most recent role as Chief Sustainability Officer at Bass Pro Shops, and his time at Tinshed Ventures. We also discuss the breaking unsustainable consumer patterns, the dirty underbelly of the apparel industry, and the role of policy in a clean future. Phil is a great guest, and this is a must-listen episode for those interested in the intersection of climate and apparel.Enjoy the show!You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.Episode recorded live January 13th, 2022For more information about this episode, visit: https://myclimatejourney.co/episodes/phil-graves
Kourtney Morgan is a Senior Designer at Patagonia— and one of Fast Company's Most Creative People In Business in 2020. Kourtney, a nature lover herself, has taken up the company's mantle to find unique solutions for minimizing waste in Patagonia's clothing design, from championing the brand's Worn Wear program for selling gently used out-of-season clothes to designing the ReCrafted collection from used and damaged clothing. According to Kourtney, the brand isn't looking to just own these sustainable practices, but to pave the way for others: “There's a huge movement, not just within Patagonia, but across a lot of brands to repair and resell their garments. It's not happening fast enough, just like our reaction to climate change isn't happening fast enough.”Kourtney helps Patagonia execute its vision for a better cared-for planet and set a precedent for other brands to do the same.
I had the pleasure of talking about re-useing and recycling textiles for both art and business this week with Used Clothing Alchemist Crispina ffrench! She is an environmental textile artist, teacher, and coach working with textile waste to build environmental awareness, create a healthy lifestyle, teach by example, and provide the marketplace with lovely home furnishings, clothing, and accessories. We talk about how she got into working with repurposed textiles, her journey through entrepreneurship (including the importance of asking for help), the power and autonomy discovered through creativity, and steps we can take to move towards more ecological approach in both the textile industry and in our own work (hint: it starts with get over the guilt of being human and making waste, so we can make more mindful choices!!) Mentioned in this episode:Crispina's websitestitcherhoodThe Sweater Chop Shop BookCrispina's instagram Eileen Fischer's RenewPatagonia's Worn Wear (these are especially amazing!) Swanson's Fabric Shop
冒頭では徐々に露出が増えてきたメディア出演情報をお伝えしています！あの全国ネットのビジネス情報番組にGrinoがついに出演！？ 「今週のオススメ他社商品」で紹介したパタゴニアのWORN WEAR ポップアップストアについての話が、そのまま今回の本編になっています！ 【このPodcastについて】プラントベースフードブランド Grino（grino.life）の商品を購入して下さった方々にお届けする番組です。Grinoの商品のことや、地球とあなたのためになる話、我々の熱い想いなどを話していきます。ぜひGrinoをお召し上がりながらお楽しみください！ 【パーソナリティの紹介】 ユウ：Grinoをつくった人 マサノ：Grinoのクラウドファンディングを成功させた人 ショウタ：GrinoのPodcastの発起人
大家好，我是Eric，这一期我需要隆重向大家介绍何姐。她是Patagonia 旧衣回收项目Worn Wear 2.0 背后的主要负责人。平时大家拿来维修的衣服，就是姐在背后一针一线的给大家修理的。维修每一件衣服都有很多个环节，要沟通，要确定维修方案，如果有额外的费用需要提前预知告知，需要拆线，裁，缝，配布…这些都是由姐自己完成的。在这些维修的背后有很多的辛苦，但是也有很多大家没有关注到的，对于衣服使用个护理的细节。很多人因为维修和姐交上了朋友，但是更多的人最终因为姐的手艺都成为了姐的粉丝。所以，这一期我们来和姐聊一聊她工作之中的具体工作细节，我们希望大家能够通过这一期节目理解姐工作的辛苦，给worn wear的工作多一些体谅和耐心，其实看似简单的维修一点都不简单。什么是 Worn Wear 2.0？2013 年 Patagonia 推出了 “Worn Wear”，这是一个以市场上已有的Patagonia旧衣物为原料进行维修加工，致力于提高户外产品作为Gear的功能使用周期的旧衣循环项目。它提出了“Better than new”的口号，希望以此鼓励顾客参与延长衣物的使用寿命，思考改变人与物之间的关系，最终通过循环经济实现环境友好。Worn Wear 2.0 包含截止目前，该项目已经形成了四项以下业务旧衣循环体系：1）“Fix it”缝补维修（Patagonia的每件衣服都可以享受终身修补服务，仅需支付材料费用）；2）“Buy used”买卖二手（对于回收衣物中衣况较好的会经过清洗直接作为二手衣出售）；3） “Trade in”旧衣回收（通过现金抵扣券的方式回收无法修补或者顾客不想要的衣物，回收回来的衣物会被作为Recrafted或者Fix it时的原材料再此利用）；4）“Recrafted”设计再造 （回收衣物中衣况较差的会被修补改造成新的单品回到市场 ）
大家好，我是Eric，这一期我需要隆重向大家介绍何姐。她是Patagonia 旧衣回收项目Worn Wear 2.0 背后的主要负责人。平时大家拿来维修的衣服，就是姐在背后一针一线的给大家修理的。维修每一件衣服都有很多个环节，要沟通，要确定维修方案，如果有额外的费用需要提前预知告知，需要拆线，裁，缝，配布…这些都是由姐自己完成的。在这些维修的背后有很多的辛苦，但是也有很多大家没有关注到的，对于衣服使用个护理的细节。很多人因为维修和姐交上了朋友，但是更多的人最终因为姐的手艺都成为了姐的粉丝。所以，这一期我们来和姐聊一聊她工作之中的具体工作细节，我们希望大家能够通过这一期节目理解姐工作的辛苦，给worn wear的工作多一些体谅和耐心，其实看似简单的维修一点都不简单。什么是 Worn Wear 2.0？2013 年 Patagonia 推出了 “Worn Wear”，这是一个以市场上已有的Patagonia旧衣物为原料进行维修加工，致力于提高户外产品作为Gear的功能使用周期的旧衣循环项目。它提出了“Better than new”的口号，希望以此鼓励顾客参与延长衣物的使用寿命，思考改变人与物之间的关系，最终通过循环经济实现环境友好。Worn Wear 2.0 包含截止目前，该项目已经形成了四项以下业务旧衣循环体系：1）“Fix it”缝补维修（Patagonia的每件衣服都可以享受终身修补服务，仅需支付材料费用）；2）“Buy used”买卖二手（对于回收衣物中衣况较好的会经过清洗直接作为二手衣出售）；3） “Trade in”旧衣回收（通过现金抵扣券的方式回收无法修补或者顾客不想要的衣物，回收回来的衣物会被作为Recrafted或者Fix it时的原材料再此利用）；4）“Recrafted”设计再造 （回收衣物中衣况较差的会被修补改造成新的单品回到市场 ）
S5 Ep11 PATAGONIA WORN WEAR: Alex Kremer, head of Patagonia’s secondhand arm, Worn Wear - on mending and repairs, vintage and secondhand Patagonia, and extending the life of your pieces. JOIN OUR PATREON COMMUNITY: https://www.patreon.com/prelovedpod Listen and subscribe on: iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play | or wherever you get your podcasts! Please rate & review the show so more vintage lovers find this community. Pre-Loved Podcast is a weekly interview show about rad vintage style with guests you’ll want to go thrifting with. Find the show at @emilymstochl on Instagram and @PreLovedPod on Twitter. Pre-Loved Podcast: Patagonia Worn Wear Alright, let’s talk about today’s guest. Today we’re speaking with Alex Kremer, head of Patagonia’s secondhand arm, Worn Wear. Worn Wear products are better than new! Their goal is to keep Patagonia gear in use longer with mending and repairs, and reduce your need to buy more over time. You can also buy used and vintage Patagonia through Worn Wear. Alex launched Patagonia’s secondhand business, opened Patagonia’s first store dedicated to selling exclusively secondhand items, and created Patagonia’s first upcycled product line called ReCrafted, made from post-consumer waste. We talked Worn Wear’s mission, mending -- the hundreds of thousands of repairs they’ve done in stores and on tour! -- cool stories behind well loved Patagonia, as well as practical tips extending the life of your pieces. All that and more! Let’s dive right in! All the Episode Links: Worn Wear @wornwear Patagonia on tour @gearaid patches Repair tech, Anne Graham @yarndiva11 Patagonia Recrafted Collection According to Fashion Revolution, only 40% of people would repair their clothes if damaged Right to Repair iFixIt Patagonia iFixIt guide Fairphone Tersus Solutions Let My People Go Surfing by Patagonia founder, Yvon Chouinard * JOIN THE PATREON COMMUNITY and get the Pre-Loved Podcast News Flash: https://www.patreon.com/prelovedpod A special thanks goes out to my Patron Insiders: Lucero Buendia Jessie-Lea Patty Weber Meg Fazio of Little Raisin Vintage **For more good stuff every week be sure you subscribe to Emily’s newsletter! It’s called The French Press and you can sign up here. *** Pre-Loved Podcast stickers are on sale now! PayPal me $4.00 USD at this link, or to @Emily-Stochl on Venmo and provide your address, and I will ship you a sticker anywhere in the world! Or, if you want, you can also use the link paypal.me/prelovedpod or Venmo @Emily-Stochl to send a donation in support of the show. ****Our Depop shop is @prelovedpod if you want to find some vintage gems and support the show. Pre-Loved Podcast is created by Emily Stochl. Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and the Brume & Daisy blog.
【主播的话】 双十一过去了，双十二马上到。当买买买变成无意识的狂欢，过度消费已成当代生活的症候。 但现代生产和生活方式决定了，人类不可能完全不消费，消费主义也非中国所特有的现象，这是反思的现实前提。那么问题出在哪里？我找来两位好友，从设计、制造和使用的物品全生命周期角度，聊了聊「新型消费观」：消费教育、用消费投票、有机棉、减少购买（Buy less）、以及户外爱好者社群如何获得自然教育等等。 现代社会罢黜了公共意义，消解了个体的公共责任，人被异化为只剩下生理需求，这是消费社会的思想背景。在一件商品的全生命周期（LCA）中，制造和废弃阶段对消费者隐形而不可见，却产生最大的环境和社会影响，这是消费社会的组织形式。 本期嘉宾杨致远最后一段话说得太好，分享在这里：“过有态度的城市生活，就是试着建立自己的购买标准，了解自己购买的物品，尽可能长久地使用它，找到生命中一些购物之外的事情去做，那才能带给你更深层的精神上的喜悦。消费只是一种手段和工具，为了生活而消费，而不是为了消费而活着。” 这是「未来生活」系列的第一期。 【主播】 孟常（微博@孟常） 【嘉宾】 Eric，户外爱好者，Patagonia品牌负责人 杨致远，工业设计师，旧好商店联合创始人 【本期剧透】 10:30 当代生活决定了我们很难做到不消费 11:30 消费主义不是中国特色现象，消费社会的根源在于现代社会罢黜了公共意义、人被异化为只剩下生理需求 18:45 如何通过消费进行消费教育 24:30 Patagonia：做保护地球的商业，是因为一群户外爱好者对自然真切的爱 28:00 1994年，Patagonia决定全面使用有机棉 30:00 Worn Wear计划，衣服坏了就拿去修补 32:00 潜水、冲浪、登山爱好者对环境恶化的感受是直接的、真实的 38:00 产品全生命周期（LCA）：制造-使用-废弃，但制造和废弃阶段对消费者是不可见的，却产生了最大的环境和社会影响 49:00 最早的摇粒绒衣服 55:00 能够频繁在二手商店看到的品牌说明品质过硬，价格稳定 65:00 物尽其用是对一个物品最大的礼貌 71:00 我们可以用消费投票吗 82:00 重建我们对消费的理解 【本期音乐】 片头曲：Michael Jackson - Heal the World 片尾曲：HIB,五六 - Silent Spring（寂静的春天） 【logo设计】刘刘（ins: imjanuary) 【后期制作】CC 【制作总监】王若弛 【收听方式】 推荐您使用Apple播客、Spotify、小宇宙App或任意安卓播客客户端订阅收听《不合时宜》，也可通过网易云音乐、喜马拉雅收听。 【本节目由JustPod出品】 【互动方式】 微博@不合时宜TheWeirdo 微信公号：不合时宜TheWeirdo 不合时宜听友群：加入方式详见微博置顶帖 欢迎打赏：https://afdian.net/@TheWeirdo
【主播的话】 双十一过去了，双十二马上到。当买买买变成无意识的狂欢，过度消费已成当代生活的症候。 但现代生产和生活方式决定了，人类不可能完全不消费，消费主义也非中国所特有的现象，这是反思的现实前提。那么问题出在哪里？我找来两位好友，从设计、制造和使用的物品全生命周期角度，聊了聊「新型消费观」：消费教育、用消费投票、有机棉、减少购买（Buy less）、以及户外爱好者社群如何获得自然教育等等。 现代社会罢黜了公共意义，消解了个体的公共责任，人被异化为只剩下生理需求，这是消费社会的思想背景。在一件商品的全生命周期（LCA）中，制造和废弃阶段对消费者隐形而不可见，却产生最大的环境和社会影响，这是消费社会的组织形式。 本期嘉宾杨致远最后一段话说得太好，分享在这里：“过有态度的城市生活，就是试着建立自己的购买标准，了解自己购买的物品，尽可能长久地使用它，找到生命中一些购物之外的事情去做，那才能带给你更深层的精神上的喜悦。消费只是一种手段和工具，为了生活而消费，而不是为了消费而活着。” 这是「未来生活」系列的第一期。 【主播】 孟常（微博@孟常） 【嘉宾】 Eric，户外爱好者，Patagonia品牌负责人 杨致远，工业设计师，旧好商店联合创始人 【本期剧透】 10:30 当代生活决定了我们很难做到不消费 11:30 消费主义不是中国特色现象，消费社会的根源在于现代社会罢黜了公共意义、人被异化为只剩下生理需求 18:45 如何通过消费进行消费教育 24:30 Patagonia：做保护地球的商业，是因为一群户外爱好者对自然真切的爱 28:00 1994年，Patagonia决定全面使用有机棉 30:00 Worn Wear计划，衣服坏了就拿去修补 32:00 潜水、冲浪、登山爱好者对环境恶化的感受是直接的、真实的 38:00 产品全生命周期（LCA）：制造-使用-废弃，但制造和废弃阶段对消费者是不可见的，却产生了最大的环境和社会影响 49:00 最早的摇粒绒衣服 55:00 能够频繁在二手商店看到的品牌说明品质过硬，价格稳定 65:00 物尽其用是对一个物品最大的礼貌 71:00 我们可以用消费投票吗 82:00 重建我们对消费的理解 【本期音乐】 片头曲：Michael Jackson - Heal the World 片尾曲：HIB,五六 - Silent Spring（寂静的春天） 【logo设计】刘刘（ins: imjanuary) 【后期制作】CC 【制作总监】王若弛 【收听方式】 推荐您使用Apple播客、Spotify、小宇宙App或任意安卓播客客户端订阅收听《不合时宜》，也可通过网易云音乐、喜马拉雅收听。 【本节目由JustPod出品】 【互动方式】 微博@不合时宜TheWeirdo 微信公号：不合时宜TheWeirdo 不合时宜听友群：加入方式详见微博置顶帖 欢迎打赏：https://afdian.net/@TheWeirdo
A 20 year employee of Patagonia, Kourtney Morgan is the senior designer on Patagonia’s sportswear team designing all things fleece. She is also the creative director for Recrafted, a Patagonia project begun in collaboration with the company’s Worn Wear project first developed to act as a set of tools to help customers take the position of mutual responsibility… extending the life of the products Patagonia makes by providing significant resources for responsible care, repair, reuse, resale, and recycling at the end of a garment's life. Recrafted features up-cycled clothing and a variety of bags from used garments and liability fabrics. It was due in part to the Recrafted project that Kourtney was listed in this month’s Fast Company Magazine as one of the most creative people in business, alongside the likes of covergirl and founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, Joy Buolamwini, actor Ryan Reynolds, choreographer Twyla Tharp, and Kourtney’s personal favorite, singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, artist, actor, writer, music theorist, and filmmaker, former Talking Head David Byrne.
In this episode of Women Giving a Bleep, Tanyella Evans has a socially-distanced virtual conversation with Vanessa Barboni- Hallik, the founder and CEO of a ground-breaking sustainable fashion brand and activism platform, Another Tomorrow. After 15 years in finance, Vanessa took a step back to consider her next career steps, and what she learned about the detrimental impact of the fashion industry and lack of effective solutions led to her watershed moment for change. Highlighting the difference between social entrepreneurship and systems entrepreneurship, Vanessa’s solution is to build a completely new kind of fashion company that takes into account the entire ecosystem of quality, transparency, education and activism. Listen now to learn Vanessa’s fundamentals for building any company today. Follow us on Instagram @nabuorg and Another Tomorrow @anothertomorrow. To learn more about NABU and this episode visit www.nabu.orgShow Notes: Another Tomorrow Vogue piece “Could COVID-19 Usher in a New Era of Responsibility in Fashion? An Urgent Opportunity for Sustainability and Ethics” (April 2020).Another Tomorrow The New York Times piece “A Brand as Ethically Minded as It Is Refined The clothing line Another Tomorrow offers up a new model for environmentally sound design.” (January 2020).Another Tomorrow Business Pillars & Examples:Using Technology for Transparency: Another Tomorrow technology partner, EVRYTHNG and an example here.Using Technology for Authenticity: Another Tomorrow sample link from one of their product pages to demonstrate what the customer sees when they scan the QR code (each of Another Tomorrows pieces has a unique digital ID so this is just one example). Because each piece has its own digital identity, when it is returned to us for resale, we can scan the QR code and verify exactly which piece it was.The Circular Economy Model: for Another Tomorrow, the circular economy model means facilitating multiple lives for our products through resale. This has long been used by car companies (e.g. BMW Certified vehicles etc) and adopted by some of the market leaders (see Patagonia’s Worn Wear, a role model for us). Another Tomorrows platform is one of the first we know of where a luxury company is taking ownership of its own resale model. They have signaled this on this page of their site and will formally launch resale in early 2021. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
THE IMPACT. Ryan Gellert:Is General Manager EMEA at Patagonia, overseeing sales, marketing, sustainability and operations through the regionPreviously spent 15 years at Black Diamond Equipment, in roles including Brand President, VP of Supply Chain Management and Managing Director of Black Diamond AsiaHolds a J.D. from the University of Utah; an M.B.A. from Florida Institute of Technology; and a B.S.B.A. in Finance from the University of North Carolina CharlotteTHE JOURNEY. In our conversation, we explore:Ryan’s early influences of sports and social justiceAdapting global issues to local markets in EuropeThe story of Patagonia from reducing impact to becoming an activist companyThe challenge for other companies wanting to follow Patagonia’s lead: figure out what you believe, and what you’re willing to doPractical ways Patagonia engages and empowers employees to be part of the changeYou can follow Patagonia’s work of Patagonia online, Action Works, Worn Wear, and 1% for the Planet.
We made it to 300 episodes, friends! This week - Kylie Jenner is $600 million richer after selling part of her company to Coty, Gift certificates for Barneys will be honored at a Philadelphia store and Brooks Brothers may have changes on the horizon. An Italian sweatshop may be linked to a bunch of fashion houses and Patagonia opened its first Worn Wear store. Come hang out! Instagram: @popfashionpodcast Twitter: @JustPopFashion Lisa’s Twitter: @lisatella Kaarin’s Twitter: @truetostyle
From the Simplr studios in San Francisco, this is your daily briefing. IntroductionWith your Retail E-Commerce Briefing for today, Wednesday, November 20th, I'm Vincent Phamvan.Nordstrom and Rent the Runway are expanding their partnership, bring more drop-off boxes to Nordstrom locations along with offering enhanced services to Rent the Runway members.First, here are some retail headlines. Amazon Now Number One U.S. BrandIn a report, Amazon passed Apple and Google as the number one U.S. brand. The company’s worth rose 20 percent from last year to $334.6 billion dollars, the most of any in the history of the annual Brand Z top 100 brands in the country from Kantar consulting group. Apple came in second, worth $303.4 billion dollars and Google came in at third with $303.2 billion dollars.Patagonia Opens First Physical StorePatagonia has opened its first-ever physical store for its resale business, Worn Wear. The store is a pop-up in Boulder, Colorado, that will be open until February of 2020 according to a press release. The move comes as the resale business continues to grow, indicating the retailer is doubling down on its own used gear efforts. The new pop-up will feature Worn Wear products, as well as its ReCrafted Collection, which sells clothes made from apparel that was beyond repair. In addition to selling used gear, the location will host repair and upcycling workshops.Coty Aquires Majority Stake in Kylie Cosmetics/Kylie SkinAccording to a press release, Coty acquired a majority stake of Kylie Jenner’s beauty business on Monday for $600 million dollars. The acquisition includes Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2020, and the Jenner brands will continue to be sold through beauty retailers as well as owned digital channels. Nordstrom and Rent the Runway Expand Their PartnershipNordstrom and Rent the Runway are expanding their partnership, with the apparel rental service bringing its drop-off boxes to 24 more Nordstrom locations nationwide. Five Nordstrom locations currently offer the Rent the Runway return service, according to a press release from the companies. Nordstrom is also becoming a rent the Runway Platform partner, which the companies said, “entails contributing inventory to the Rent the Runway ecosystem to extend the lifecycle of Nordstrom products,”. They’re also exploring the development of other exclusive products that could be bought or rented.The expanded partnership comes at a time when e-commerce is seeing more growth than the wider retail industry. Brick-and-mortar and online retailer partnerships have become a strategy several companies have embraced as the retail landscape continues to shift. Kohls began accepting Amazon returns and Target started selling Casper mattresses. ThredUp also formed partnerships with JCPenny and Macy’s to sell a selection of their consignment clothes in several of their department store locations. Rent the Runway isn’t a stranger to partnering with a brick-and-mortar retailer, installing its drop boxes at 15 WeWork locations along with hosting several pop-ups at the company’s locations.For Nordstrom and Rent the Runway, it’s hard to imagine a better match for a partnership. Both companies emphasize their upscale apparel and customer service. Nordstrom locations will have trained stylists available to work with Rent the Runway members and place a renewed emphasis on high-touch services like tailoring, styling, and gift wrapping. ClosingFind out how Simplr can cut your customer service response time through cutting-edge technology and on-demand talent at simplr.ai. That’s S-I-M-P-L-R.ai. Thanks for listening to this latest episode of the Retail E-Commerce Briefing. See you tomorrow.
Nellie Cohen oversees Patagonia’s Worn Wear program. Worn Wear encourages people to do more with the clothing they already have through repair, reuse, and responsible recycling. They do this by offering trade-in credits for pre-owned Patagonia merchandise that’s then resold online at a discount. While a smaller operation, Worn Wear is part of Patagonia’s larger commitment to ethical environmental responsibility. More than that, the program is about the true stories of people and their Patagonia gear and preserving the planet in a small way. On this episode of the podcast, Nellie shares the origins behind Worn Wear (6:24). She illuminates on the process of launching their ecommerce site (10:58), managing the logistics behind all the program elements (13:07), and creating cross-functional trainable systems (14:23). Nellie talks about the revenue goals of the program (17:56). Stephan asks about the organizational systems and values that enable Patagonia to implement programs like Worn Wear (23:10). Nellie shares how they’re still a scrappy startup under a larger parent company (34:43). They get big picture with sustainability in ecommerce and its impact on Patagonia (35:44); and finally, they dive into Patagonia’s case study on plastic packaging for garment delivery (38:48). Links and images from this post are on the Lumi Blog.
Full episode info and Show Notes: www.wearelookingsideways.com I welcomed true adventure royalty onto the show for episode 027, when I met up with the great Rick Ridgeway. Rick, a legendary mountaineer and adventurer, was part of the first American team to summit K2; just one highlight in a career full of firsts and achievements. Today, he is Vice President of Public Engagement at Patagonia, using the insights accrued from a lifetime of adventuring to help shape Patagonia's environmental activities. Whether it's the hugely influential Worn Wear, or the recent campaign against President Trump, Rick is involved and leading from the front. In this conversation, recorded at the Kendal Mountain Festival in November 2017, we discuss the environmental challenges we all face, how nature and wildness can influence an individual’s sense of mortality and humbleness, and the importance of safeguarding your own values. It was a true privilege this one, and I hope you enjoy listening to the wisdom of this wonderfully articulate and generous orator as much as I did. Thanks to Scott Nixon (www.scottnixon.co.uk) for post-production help and Matt Ward (www.linguistine.com) for the theme tune. Big thanks to Alex Weller and Chloe Longstaff for helping hook this one up.
In episode 78, Kestrel welcomes Nellie Cohen, the Worn Wear Program Manager at Patagonia, to the show. Patagonia's Worn Wear program aims to reduce environmental impacts by encouraging people to change their relationship to stuff, through repair and reuse of what they already have, and by celebrating quality and durability. Patagonia's largest repair center is in Reno, Nevada, and they did 50,000 repairs there in 2016. Nellie shares some of the history on Worn Wear, and how it evolved from Patagonia's earlier roots with Common Threads. It's a pretty cool story how Worn Wear originated from a blog that Patagonia surf ambassador Chris Malloy and his wife Lauren had started separately. Nellie also elaborates on the scale of Patagonia's Worn Wear, and the number of employees that are dedicated to mending and building out the company's program. For Nellie, celebrating the stories behind the pieces we wear is huge - she's especially a fan of the family heirloom stories that can be attached to Patagonia's past styles. Throughout this chat, Nellie brings up the below companies, ideas and projects: Worn Wear Teijin, Patagonia partnered with Teijin in the early stages of Common Threads to recycle their capilene line, in a closed loop chemical recycling process Don't Buy This Jacket campaign in the New York Times, Black Friday, 2011 Jay Nelson, artist behind the Worn Wear wagon I Fix It, a company Patagonia partnered with to create their repair manuals Patagonia's Repair Manuals Yerdle, a company Patagonia invested in through their venture capital arm; they make it easy for brands to buy back and resell used items Nellie gave a shoutout to the work Renewal Workshop is doing when it comes to closing the loop You can listen to our episode with their cofounder Nicole here > The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Reports on The Circular Economy ________________________________________________________ Amazon just launched a 500 piece fast fashion collection. What does this mean? How do you think this will impact the future of fashion? Will sustainability play a role in their upcoming endeavors? Check out The Fashion Law's article to learn more. Also, chime in on Instagram @consciouschatter and let me know how you think this move will make an impact on what comes next for fashion.
The Outdoor Product Industry and how it intersects with the Environmental Community 8-24-2017 Many corporations and retailers providing outdoor products and services are become highly environmentally conscious. They are showing leadership and responding to customer desires. We spoke with two representative industry leaders: our local Austin Patagonia store, and the Crux Climbing Center also in Austin, Texas. Our guests were: Richard Tornton – Environmental Outreach Coordinator, Patagonia He leads Patagonia’s efforts to be to build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis. Their values reflect those of a business started by a band of climbers and surfers, and the minimalist style they promoted. The approach we take towards product design demonstrates a bias for simplicity and utility. Patagonia has also implemented a new concept called Worn Wear to re-pairs or re-purpose you old or worn Patagonia products. Kevin Goradia – Owner of Crux Climbing Center in Austin He is an avid climber and co-owner of the Crux Climbing Center. Crux is designed to be much more than a gym—it’s a place where you can form a community. It is a 22,000 square foot facility stocked with rope climbing, bouldering, and strength training areas, a flex space for fitness and yoga classes, locker rooms, a kids’ area, and a lounge space that gives folks a place to hang out with old friends or meet new ones after your workout. Social events ranging from small, intimate community gatherings to large, blow-your-mind competitions are held at Crux all year long.
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